Kennedy's death triggered an outpouring of eulogies from both Democrats and Republicans as well as foreign leaders around the world.

“An important chapter in our history has come to an end,” U.S. President Obama said in a written statement. “Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States senator of our time.” Then Obama went on to point out that “for five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well-being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.”

Indeed, Kennedy is seriously missed by many. But, those fond memories of him are cherished not because he was a man with a flawless character and an extremely successful career. As a matter of fact, he was neither. He was far from being a perfect person as his record showed his expulsion from Harvard University for cheating and his involvement in the Chappaquiddick scandal in 1969 in which a young woman in his car drowned.

After the tragic deaths of his two brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, Teddy also harbored presidential ambitions, but his only run for the presidency ended in 1980 when he failed to take the nomination by the Democratic Party from Jimmy Carter. This was probably the price he had to pay for his misbehavior.

However, he was not discouraged by failures. He chose not to withdraw from playing an active role in politics. He worked hard in the Senate, thus earning respect from his colleagues, whether they were Democrats or Republicans and whether they agreed with him or not.

Ted Kennedy Jr., the senator's eldest son, recalled how his father taught him to overcome the hardest of times. Such an attitude of confidence in being able to turn defeat into triumph was one of his father's greatest legacies bequeathed to him, he stressed.

Ted came from a big glamorous family with numerous misfortunes, including the assassinations of his two brothers, John and Robert. His candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts in 1962 stunned the Cambridge intellectual community. But once elected to Congress, he was known to be a diligent legislator, winning the admiration and loyalty of his colleagues in the Senate and becoming the leading champion of the New Deal and post-war liberalism. Throughout his career, Ted vigorously promoted the causes of the underprivileged and minorities.

Nowhere was his bold and non-partisan leadership more eminently demonstrated than when Ted helped President George W. Bush pass controversial legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind law, and the creation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit. He decided to lend his prestige and credibility to the Bush administration for certain issues despite opposition from his party caucus, because he thought his move advanced the well-being of the American people.

He was gravely concerned about the enactment of a good health care program for all Americans even in the final days of his life. It was because of this common conviction that prompted Ted to give surprising support to Obama, then a junior senator from Illinois, in his quest for the U.S. presidency in 2008.

Ted was often called the “Lion of the Senate” or a “legislative master.” He knew fully well the art of compromise, an indispensable skill for a successful politician, and his influence was matched by few public figures in the modern history of the United States.

Some critics assert that Ted's accomplishments as a legislator, no matter how glittering they were, could not overshadow his blunders and personal flaws. But, apparently he had learned lessons from his experiences to become the “greatest United States senator of our time,” who was also a merciful and kind-hearted hero, as President Obama put it.

His unswerving life-long dedication to the cause of the liberal ideology, his sense of justice and humanity and his undaunted spirit in facing difficulties will be forever remembered by all. In a word, he was a consummate politician.

This is exactly the kind of leader that Taiwan needs today, one who is neither just a decent nice guy nor a political careerist but rather a competent and astute pragmatist knowing how to solve problems for the good of the people and the country. So, in view of the chaotic situation prevailing in this land nowadays, we cannot but ask: Where is Taiwan's Kennedy?